Density and emptiness

What follows is an edited version of a presentation delivered at the international symposium “Studies in Materialistic Historiography” at Tongji University in Shanghai in June 2025. The analysis is focused on two contrasting projects: Miniature Beijing , a renovation in Beijing that re-establishes a new spatial order within the hutong courtyard, resolving the conflict between high residential density and the courtyard house; and Instantaneous Arcadia , a temporary installation in Nanjing that utilized provisional construction in a physically “empty” site to echo the chaotic urban present and the site’s long-forgotten history. By comparing these cases through conceptual pairs like “ephemeral and permanent,” “ruins and renewal,” and “density and emptiness,” the presentation argues that both projects can be regarded as a way of engaging with and reflecting on the complex layers of time and change within the urban environment, aligning with Benjamin’s critical and evocative approach to history.